Rumours of My Death
by HlysComment
Summary: Rodney's team have always come to his rescue, but what happens when they don't?
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER: **I don't own SGA. I'm just having fun. Don't shoot!

Author's Note: I was trying to think of what could keep the team from rescuing Rodney and realized the Carson clone had already answered the question. They won't look for you if they think you're dead.

* * *

John couldn't believe it.

He saw the crumpled body, just where they said it would be.

What John should have done was bring his P-90 to bear and check for ambush. He should have carefully approached the body, all the while scanning the perimeter for hostile contact. What he did was allow his weapon to dangle uselessly from his tac vest as he ran headlong toward his friend.

"Rodney?!" he screamed as Ronon's long legged stride overtook his. The impossibly large Satedan fell to the ground next to the body and started checking it over for a pulse, for bleeding, for life. As John arrived and landed harshly on his knees, he could see Ronon bow his head enraged.

John saw Rodney's face, impossibly pale; his skin looked like poorly mixed plaster slightly shaded blue. His eyes were closed, his brows relaxed and his mouth slightly open. The effect was such that he seemed to be sleepily asking a question.

Ronon stood with tears in his eyes and screamed his rage. He beat his chest silently and repeatedly before splaying his flexed arms apart and roaring at the sky in outraged and impotent protest.

John couldn't believe it.

After his momentary pause, he grabbed Rodney's hand. It was cold to the touch. He called to Rodney and gently slapped at his still, blue cheek. No response. He shook Rodney then and called more. The man still flopped lifelessly.

"McKay! Get up, damn you!" John screamed even though a part of him knew it was too late, that _**he **_was too late. The other part of him simply could not believe it.

"John," Teyla's voice seemed to come from far away. "_**John!**_"

He stopped and stilled.

"He is gone, John." Teyla said calmly with a voice drenched in unshed tears.

Rodney McKay the most brilliant, the most annoying and the most heroic scientist in two galaxies was dead.

John sat there, not two feet from the still and uncharacteristically silent body and could not believe it.

* * *

John stood in front of the cheery house. The welcome mat on the stoop that read, "Hi! I'm Mat." made him smile briefly. It was just very Jeannie.

He steeled himself up for the task at hand. Commanding himself again to keep it together and be strong for Jeannie. He didn't want to be here and he didn't want to do this, but Rodney had asked.

"_If something happens, you know, if I, well, die. I don't…I don't want Jeannie to hear it from some Air Force Chaplin she's never met or a cab driver."_

"_A cab driver?" John had said then, so thrown off by the remark that he momentarily forgot to refuse to take part in the morbid turn of the discussion._

"_It happens. I saw it in a movie once." Rodney had said defensively._

"_Oh, well that settles it because we all know Hollywood never fudges the details for dramatic effect." John had said snarkily._

"_That's not the point and you know it. If I die I want Jeannie to hear it from someone she knows. I want it to be you."_

"_I refuse to continue this conversation."_

"_John, please?" _

Technically, John had never promised. He stared at the cheerful welcome mat for another long moment, and then he knocked on the door.

Caleb answered. "Hello. You're John, right?" He said, his brow furrowed.

"Lt. Col. John Sheppard, that's right." John said and he tried to smile.

"Um, you're here for Jeannie?" The lanky English professor asked, his brow still furrowed in concern. "Does Mer need her in…um" he stopped short of saying the name, "Is she going to be leaving?" He asked instead.

"No," John said slowly his eyes (damn them) stinging slightly. "No, I just, I need to tell her something. Is Maddy here?" He looked up then and their eyes met.

"Oh." Caleb's eyes widened in horror. "Is he okay? He's not…" He didn't finish the question.

"It might be a good idea if you kept Madison in the other room for a little while." John said just as Jeannie approached the door calling, "Caleb, good grief, either let them in or tell them to go away already."

Jeannie peeked over her husband's arm, which was still stretched out holding the front door open.

"John!" She said brightly and the spark in her blue eyes was so familiar John felt the familiar ache returning to his. "Caleb!" Jeannie smacked him in the stomach with the hand towel she was holding. "Don't be rude! Ask him in. I'm so sorry, John."

Jeannie was leading him into the bright living room. It looked more like a daycare play room than a formal sitting area and Jeannie was apologizing in that cute Canadian way, "Sorry about the mess. Maddy has claimed the house. I think the only room not overrun with toys is the master bathroom."

Maddy had glanced up from the train set with which she had been playing and eyed John suspiciously. John reminded himself that the last time he had been here it was because Maddy's mommy had been kidnapped.

"Madison, say Hi to Uncle Mer's friend John," Jeannie urged.

The little girl's soft, "Hi." was barely audible and she refused to make eye contact.

"Hiya, Madison." John answered with another attempt at a smile.

Caleb spoke up then, "Uh, Maddy, why don't we give Mommy some quiet time with her friend? You wanna walk down to the park?"

"Yeah!" was the enthusiastic reply as the little girl climbed to her feet and ran across the room.

Jeannie dramatically cleared her throat, "Ahem!"

Maddy smiled sheepishly and then ran back to wrap her arms around her mother in a warm embrace. Then, just as quickly, she had turned on her heal and was pulling her father out the door.

"Love you, Mommy. See ya later!" She called over her shoulder and Jeannie smiled at the more quiet but most emphatic, "Come on, Daddy, let's go." She turned to her guest, a clearly uncomfortable John Sheppard.

"Let me guess, Mer is having a problem with his homework and, rather than just come and ask for help himself, he sent you." She shook her head and smiled. "What? Did you lose a bet?"

John didn't laugh or make a snarky remark as she expected. He walked over to the couch and wordlessly indicated a request that she follow suit. Jeannie frowned, puzzled but complied.

"What?" She said but as soon as she asked the question she wished she could take it back. She was suddenly afraid of the answer.

"Jeannie, I'm sorry. I have to tell you something." His voice was soft. Jeannie felt a sick lump of dread settling in her stomach. _Oh no._

"Rodney was captured by a hostile race of humans in the Pegasus galaxy a few days ago…"

_Captured. Not dead. He's not dead. Mer will be okay. He didn't say he was dead. _

"We underestimated their level of technology. They, like many other groups had sort of masked their level of development to protect themselves from culling."

_If he's captured, they'll find him. You can help. Technology. Yes! John mentioned technology and they need you to find Mer. _

"Rodney impressed them. They got a load of that king sized brain of his and decided they could just take him. When, um, when we revealed the amount of force we were willing to bring to bear to recover him, they…" John paused, his throat tight.

_They hurt him. They must have hurt him. Oh no, did they mutilate him? Did they cut something off and send it back? Where is he? I'm going to find him._

"…they panicked. Jeannie, they killed him."

_I'm going to find him and bring him home. No more of this running around the universe pretending he's Flash Gordon. He's going to come back to Canada and…_

"What?" Jeannie whispered. Tears built in both her eyes until the scene around her was completely obscured.

John looked down at his shoes, or maybe her shoes, it was hard to tell. "They killed him, Jeannie. Rodney's dead." He said it softly. He said it as gently as it could be said but it still stabbed. The words reached into her head and raked through her brain. The tears finally dropped from her eyes and she cried.

John was holding her and she was beating his chest and sobbing out words in great hiccupping shouts. Words that didn't make sense but needed to be said anyway.

_Stupid Meredith! He can't be dead! Stupid! Just got him back. Running around like a life sized action figure. He should have stayed home! I just got him back! He should have stayed home!_

After ten minutes that felt like ten years Jeannie settled down, exhausted. John spoke some more but she wasn't really listening. Caleb came home. He held her and she cried again, quietly this time. John left. Where was Maddy? Caleb had taken her to his mother's. Did she need anything? Her eyes filled again and a small voice, a child's voice screamed, _"My brother! My big brother!"_ But Jeannie just shook her head.

Hours passed and she realized how ridiculous it was. Mer wasn't dead. That was stupid! This was a mistake. She smiled and felt a bit giddy as she reached for the phone. This was all just a terrible mistake. She still had the number of Col. Carter. She dialed the digits and listened to the ringing.

As the phone on the other end of the signal rang, it suddenly occurred to Jeannie that she didn't know what she was going to say. She couldn't just say, "Hi, Col. Carter. Is Mer dead?" It was ridiculous. She would feel like such an idiot when Sam responded, "Um, no? What? Where did you hear that?" Someone answered the phone.

"Col. Carter speaking."

Jeannie still hadn't figured out how to ask. "Um, Hi, Sam. It's Jeannie."

"Oh, Jeannie. I'm so sorry."

Jeannie slammed the phone into its cradle. It was true. Her chest pounded and she wanted to scream but couldn't even cry. Her head felt full of pressure, she was going to explode if she didn't cry. Finally, the air escaped her lungs with an inhuman sound and Caleb, who had been in the kitchen making tea, came running.

"He's dead, Caleb." Jeannie sobbed at last. "What do I do?"

* * *

Today was the day of the funeral. Well, it wasn't really a funeral was it? Jeannie smiled sadly. It was just like her brother to request something that seemed so simple but was, in fact, very complicated.

Meredith had requested that his body be cremated and his ashes thrown from a jumper into space. Simple. Except that Atlantis didn't have anything approaching a crematory. So, Mer's body had to be sent to Earth, cremated and the ashes sent back. Now she and John Sheppard were dressed in the extremely uncomfortable and limiting space suits that were, unfortunately, necessary in order to stand in the exposed rear section of the jumper.

Jeannie held the simple container. She thought it appropriate, all of it. The seemingly simple yet complex instructions, the simple urn that contained something that was so much more. Mer had always been so much more that people could see, so much more than what he displayed on the surface.

"You ready?" John asked.

"I'm ready." Jeannie answered. She awkwardly opened the container and flung the ashes into the darkness. It was incredible. The tiny pieces continued to sift, cling and separate as they moved steadily forward under the power of the initial force. Jeannie laughed. Objects in motion; one last physics lesson from her big brother.

"Good-bye, Buddy." The soft voice came in strangely loud and amplified in her suit. Jeannie watched the ashes journey as long as she could. She stood for a moment, even after they had shut the rear hatch and re-established atmosphere in the jumper, staring at where they should be.

"Good-bye, Mer. I love you." She whispered forgetting for a moment that she still wore the suit. That the microphone had taken her quiet words and spread them to the ears of her brothers friends and teammates who stood silently gazing at the blinking stars where Dr. Rodney McKay was being laid to rest.

* * *

Across the galaxy, Dr. Rodney McKay sat and peered at the stars through his cell's tiny window, getting his bearings.

"Oh, I am so screwed."

(to be continued...)


	2. Chapter 2

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own SGA. This is just for fun. Don't shoot.

Author's Note: At this point we backtrack and restart the narrative before Rodney is taken prisoner to answer some important questions. 1) How did Rodney "get screwed"? 2) What exactly was Jeannie throwing out of the Jumper if Rodney's still alive? 3) How is Rodney going to get himself "unscrewed"? Hope everyone enjoys!

* * *

John stood idly by as his teammate talked animatedly with the locals.

"Well, they sure seem to like Rodney." He said to Teyla and Ronon who looked just as bored as he felt.

"Yes, he appears to be quite popular." Teyla smiled.

"There's just something very wrong about that." Ronon grunted but he was grinning.

"How long have they been at it, anyway?" John wondered aloud.

"I believe it has been six hours." Teyla replied.

"Hmm. Yeah, Rodney must be having a good time." John said. Ronon and Teyla gave him quizzical looks.

John smiled, "He only forgets to eat when he's really, really interested in something."

Ronon grunted, "I think that has more to do with the blond."

John arched an eyebrow at Ronon. "Remind me to tease him about her in front of Jennifer." He said as he shifted the weight of his equipment and started walking toward the excited scientists.

"Hey, folks." John said good naturedly as he approached. "Can I borrow Dr. McKay for a moment?" The scientists looked disappointed but nodded their ascent and John led Rodney back toward Teyla and Ronon.

"What are you doing?" Rodney demanded testily. "The adults were actually having a mildly important conversation over here."

"I understand that. Power generation and all that jazz, very exciting. Yay, for our side but that's not going to do you any good if you faint, ahem, I mean pass out from manly hunger."

Rodney rolled his eyes and John allowed himself a satisfied smile. He held up his own hand when Rodney raised his in protest. "I know, you're doing something important here Rodney. I'm not an idiot."

Rodney rolled his eyes again and John frowned. "I'm not. You're job is to save the universe. I get that. But my job is to keep you alive long enough to do your job."

John slapped a powerbar into McKay's still outstretched hand. "Eat while we walk. It's time to check in with Woolsey."

* * *

Rodney had finished the powerbar by the time they reached the gate and, though he would never admit it, he did feel much better. He had been so involved in the discussion. It seemed possible that the Ninions actually were on the verge of creating self sustaining fusion. The theories they proposed were amazingly insightful and with the practical knowledge he had gained from his experience with Ancient and Asgard technologies, it just might work.

They could power Atlantis. They could delve into the database information on the sections of the city off the South West pier and confirm Rodney's suspicion that those facilities were used for Aurora class warship construction. They could actually wipe Pegasus clean of the Wraith stain. Rodney thought of a promise he had made a long time ago and smiled. They could kill all the monsters.

Rodney had been so engrossed in these wonderful thoughts that he hadn't even notice the first stunner blast as it took out Ronon. John had dialed the gate, established their identity and then the air around them had erupted into stunner blasts.

"This is Sheppard!" John yelled. "We're under attack! Lower the shield, we're coming in hot." As Chuck acknowledged John's words, he had turned to Rodney.

"Cover me!" He had shouted and Rodney had taken out his pitiful seeming side arm, the only weapon he'd taken on the mission. He couldn't see any of their assailants but that wasn't the point of this exercise. He knew that. He just fired randomly in the general direction from which the blasts had originated hoping that the hostiles would take cover while John was exposed and trying to retrieve Ronon.

Rodney saw John crumple into a jumbled heap. Teyla shouted. "Rodney, pull him back. I will cover you!" And Rodney had reacted instinctively, though he still retained enough of his old sensibility to be amazed that his reaction was instinct. He ran out, away from cover and he, yes! He reached Sheppard. He grabbed the wirey soldier but the dead weight was unmanageable.

_Weight training. Some kind of training. Keep telling myself I need to do more training._

Rodney thought to himself as he struggled to drag the unconscious John to safety. Of course, there was never time. There was barely time to sleep. Then the stun blast hit him and he didn't have time to think of anything before the darkness claimed him.

* * *

Woolsey watched the gate anxiously. A part of him told him to raise the shield; that he was exposing the base to attack. Another part told him raising the shield wasn't an option. That Sheppard and his team could come running through the active wormhole at any minute. The blasts had stopped coming through the gate but Sheppard was still not answering radio calls.

Just keep trying. "Col. Sheppard, I repeat, what is your status?"

No answer.

"Col. Sheppard, please respond."

No … wait. What was that?

Woolsey, at first, couldn't believe it but it appeared to be a cow like creature. There was a harness attached to it, and a rope attached to the harness and the rope was attached to…a leg. The body of Ronon Dex slowly emerged from the event horizon, then Sheppard, then Teyla, then…then the gate shut down.

The medical team that Woolsey had called as soon as the shooting had started rushed to the prone figures but Dr. Keller stopped short when the gate shut down and Rodney had not appeared. Her gaze shifted from the prone figures on the ground, to the gate and then, seemingly through a massive force of will, she turned her entire attention back to the situation at hand.

Woolsey heard her declare the team stable. "I won't know for certain until I've had a chance to run some tests," She called up to him, "but it looks like they're only stunned. I'll report more when I've got the test results back."

"I'll come down to the infirmary, Doctor." Woolsey had replied. No one asked the question they were all thinking: Where was McKay?

* * *

"Where is McKay? What have you done?" Ionaa shouted at Com Leader Brinaak.

"Dr. McKay has proven himself to be invaluable to our efforts." Brinaak said with clinical detachment. "You said it yourself. We need him. We need his help to complete the project."

"We need his cooperation!" Ionaa shouted, enraged. "He was giving us that. He was helping us freely. Why? Why would you attack him, his friends? Why abduct him?"

Ionaa stared into the Com Leader's chillingly emotionless eyes. He was not a large man but the still emptiness of his flat grey eyes had often given men pause even when they had no knowledge of his rank, position or prowess.

Ionaa didn't flinch. The scientist didn't just look frail, she was frail. Physically she was not intimidating at all but she had power all the same. She knew she was considered an invaluable resource and she was not going to back down.

Brinaak paused for a moment then said simply, "He was willing to help us today but tomorrow? Then there is the fact that in order to give us his knowledge, we must first give him ours and merely trust that he will provide us with the answers we require."

Brinaak's gaze now fixed on Ionaa and hardened. "What would prevent him from feigning ignorance or failure and then returning to his people with our knowledge, creating the power source we desire, to use as he sees fit and leaving us with nothing."

Ionaa shook her head sadly, "You are pathetic. You see a snake in every hole. Rather than explore and find the wonders that may lie waiting, you throw in a bomb and lay all to waste."

She stepped forward and leaned on his desk, trying to make sure she had his attention.

"You've ruined _everything!_ In trying to ensure that the Lantian can be trusted you've proven that we cannot." As she turned to leave Ionaa said curtly, "Dr. McKay will never help us now."

Brinaak's answer made Ionaa pause as she broached the doorway.

"Yes he will, Doctor." Brinaak said and there was something in his voice that made the young scientist suppress a shudder. "I will see to it personally."

(...to be continued...)


	3. Chapter 3

**DISCLAIMER: **I don't own SGA. This is just for fun. Don't shoot!

Author's Note: I got a pretty enthusiastic response to the first chapter and would be interested to know if the story is shaping up to expectations. If you like or don't like something, please review and let me know. I'm open to criticism. Thanks so much!

* * *

Rodney couldn't believe it.

"They think I'm dead!" He exclaimed.

Ionaa looked away from the piercing blue eyes. "Yes."

"No."

The flat denial actually startled her into establishing eye contact. "What?" She asked stupidly.

"No, no, no, no." Rodney smiled, wagged a finger and repeated the word rapidly. "You, um, you may have a relatively advanced grasp of technology for Pegasus. I'll give you that, but you have no idea who your dealing with." Rodney paced angrily.

"You have no idea what kind of man…people…you've pissed off. Ronon is the scariest. You remember him? Big, big, big caveman looking guy? He's scary but Sheppard, I know he doesn't look like much but the man is deceptively intelligent. He'll see through whatever ruse you've planned."

Ionaa sighed sadly.

"Don't!" Rodney shouted. "Don't you sit there and feel sorry for me and start with the whole, 'He's in denial' thing because let me tell you something Girly. You're the one in denial. They'll see through your charade and when they come for me, well, I wouldn't want to be here."

Rodney paused his tirade for a moment. "Well, obviously, I would want to be here because…but you! You definitely shouldn't be here."

Ionaa tried again. "Dr. McKay, please understand I had nothing to do with your capture…"

"Kidnapping!" Rodney interrupted. "Capture is something you do to enemy combatants. We were allies! This is kidnapping!"

Ionaa sighed and started again amending, "Kidnapping. I had nothing to do with your kidnapping. I would never have…I am very sorry about this. I know that such words are insufficient. However, I must assure you, you're friends do indeed believe you to be deceased."

Rodney couldn't believe it.

"No. They'll come for me. I let myself get excited and afraid and I get bogged down by that whole certain doom thing and just when I'm properly terrified Teyla, Ronon and John show up and I feel stupid for having gotten worked up in the first place. Well, not this time. Fool me once and what not."

Ionaa couldn't believe it. The little scientist was actually smiling.

"I applaud the faith you have in your friends, Dr. McKay, but I must explain. You know our technology to be much more sophisticated than what we had previously led you to believe, correct?"

Ionaa recognized in Dr. McKay a common ailment among academics on her planet. They could not be told anything. They had to be led to believe they had discovered the solution for themselves.

"You lied shamelessly to us for over a year. A year we could have spend collaborating and working together. Congratulations! You're good liars." Rodney continued to pace back and forth in his rather small cell.

"Yes, I apologize. We had to be sure that we could trust you…"

"So, what? We'd be good and surprised when you betrayed our trust?" Rodney interrupted again.

Ionaa suppressed a sigh. The man had every reason to be upset.

"Yes, well, you currently are aware of our research in my personal area of expertise, power generation. You, however, remain ignorant of other areas into which we have researched."

Despite himself, Rodney perked up.

"For some time our geneticists have struggled to create an alternate food source for the Wraith."

Rodney cursed, "Clones! You make clones."

Ionaa couldn't help but smile. Even in his current circumstances, the man's deductive abilities were impressive.

"Yes, the process has not been perfected. We can create infant clones which appear to develop normally. Unfortunately, we found it impossible to raise these children as sacrifices."

Rodney snorted. "Well, at least you have some scruples."

"Um, yes. We do." This was even harder than she had thought it would be and she had thought it would be quite difficult. "We have developed a means of creating adult clones; however, they emerge, um…"

"Dead." Rodney filled in when Ionaa's words failed her. "You made a dead full grown me?!" He looked horrified.

"Yes." Ionaa confirmed. "My superiors feigned fear and surprise at your people's threats of violence and…" Ionaa let the sentence dangle.

"Oh." Rodney said, clearly horrified. "Oh, no. They, they pretended that...oh, no."

"Yes, I am afraid they instructed your people where to collect your, um, your body." She said flatly.

Rodney couldn't believe it.

He looked up through the cell's narrow window and checked his position in the galaxy using his cursed giant brain and the stars.

"Oh, I am so screwed."

(...to be continued...)


	4. Chapter 4

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own SGA. This is just for fun. Don't shoot!

* * *

John Sheppard walked into Woolsey's office reluctantly. As he did, he thought of the woman who had once commanded from that office. Elizabeth was gone. Peter, Carson, Lt. Thomas, Lt. Ford and now Rodney.

Sheppard wasn't an idiot. He knew what Woolsey was going to say. He sighed and braced himself.

"Ah, Col. Sheppard. Thank you for coming so quickly. Please sit down." Woolsey gestured to one of the two empty chairs.

"No thanks, I've been sitting doing paper work all morning. I'd rather stand." John wanted to maintain a superior height for this conversation. Every little bit helps.

Woolsey blinked in his strange, exaggerated way. "Colonel, I recognize that you and, indeed, all of us have suffered a great loss but there is still work to be done. I must insist that you make arrangements for one of Atlantis' scientists to join your team. I believe the obvious choice would be Dr. Zelenka."

"I've already asked Radek." John said wearily. "He turned me down. Said that running the science and research department alone was going to be enough of a job for him and he couldn't handle the off world missions on top of that."

"Well, in that case, have you considered Thibodeaux or Weingarten?" Woolsey continued on easily.

John rubbed his eyes against the headache that wouldn't seem to go away. "No, I haven't. I'll get on it though."

Woolsey blinked. "Colonel, we all miss Dr. McKay, but we still have a job to do."

John felt a rush of anger at the nervous man's words. _We all miss Dr. McKay._ John thought. _Yeah, right. Most of the people on this base barely tolerated him. They didn't know him like we did. They didn't know, they couldn't know, what it was like to have him gone._

John couldn't believe his eyes were stinging again. Three months later and he still fought back tears at the most inconvenient of times. He took a slow deep breath to steady his anger and allow his eyes to clear.

When he spoke his voice was quiet and in control. "I understand that. Trust me. I have been, I admit, distracted. Like I said, I'll get on it."

Woolsey blinked. "I understand."

_Like hell, you do. _John thought as Woolsey continued.

"I am, however, going to have to insist that you have a replacement assigned by Friday. I want to have the team fully staffed by the beginning of the next pay period and Friday is the absolute latest I could turn in the necessary papers." Woolsey shifted his attention from John back to the paperwork on his desk. "Thank you for your time." He said dismissively.

"Yeah, it's been a hoot." John said as he not quite stormed from the office. John kept walking, his head in turmoil, not paying much attention to his direction. Suddenly, he found himself at the entrance to one of the training areas scattered around Atlantis.

He walked in and straight to the heavy canvas punching bag. He hit the bag. _Smack._ It felt good.

He hit it again. _Smack._

He could hear his own voice in his head.

_Smack._

_My job is to keep you alive long enough to do your job._

_Smack._

"Good job, John!"

_Smack._

"Way to go!"

_Smack._

"One simple thing."

_Smack._

"Couldn't…"

_Smack._

"…manage…"

_Smack._

"…to keep…"

_Smack._

"…one little…"

_Smack._

"…idiotic…"

_Smack._

"…scientist…"

_Smack._

"…alive!"

_Smack. Smack. Smack. Smack._

_Thud._

Someone had grabbed his hand. John looked up surprised. Ronon was staring down at him sadly.

"Your hand." The Satedan said simply.

John looked at it and saw the skin, split open and bleeding. He sniffed. _I deserve it._ He thought and then felt ashamed of his own petulance.

"It's not your fault." Ronon said quietly.

John's head jerked up. His anger rushed back and Ronon had just presented himself as a target.

"Don't you talk to me about fault!" John yelled. "I was the commander. I was…it was my job to protect him. Not the other way around. If I hadn't gotten stunned, he wouldn't have had to come out for me."

Ronon sighed. "If I hadn't been stunned, you wouldn't have been stunned going after me."

"That was different!" John snarled. "You were hit from behind, for one. And you weren't in command. And he didn't die saving your life!" John practically screamed the last two words. Ronon just stood there and didn't speak for a long moment.

"This is a dangerous place, Sheppard. Rodney knew that. I know it was our job to protect him. I know that we failed. I'll never forgive myself and I'm pretty sure you won't either. We're the warriors. But you can't let your guilt defeat you." Ronon sighed again.

John remained silent. He couldn't quite remember the last time Ronon had voluntarily spoken so much. The Satedan had been even more uncommunicative since Rodney's death.

"I lost my whole planet, Sheppard. I was sworn to protect my world and I let it crumble. I swore to protect McKay and I let him die. I've failed at almost everything I've ever done." Ronon turned his dark and dangerous eyes to him and John felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up. "But there is one task I cannot fail at. I will not fail to defeat the Wraith. And neither will you."

That was it. Ronon walked away. As the training room door slid open he called back over his shoulder, "Get your hand looked at." and was gone.

John looked down at his bloody hand again. Yeah, that had been pretty stupid. He didn't know why, but somehow what Ronon said made more sense than anything else he'd heard since that day in the damp morning air when he had held Rodney's impossibly cold hand.

John left the training room with renewed purpose. Heading toward the infirmary he mentally tried to work out the respective pros and cons of adding Thibodeaux or Weingarten to the team.

* * *

Meanwhile, on the other side of the galaxy:

"You don't understand." Rodney yelled. "Yes, by sealing the apparatus in a vacuum we essential create perpetual motion. Congratulations! Yay, for us. That doesn't change the fact that there is no way to harness it!"

"No, Rodney, you must be missing something. There must be a way." Ionaa practically pleaded.

"Trust me, I have looked. You think I haven't looked? You think I want another buddy-buddy session with Blinaak? It's not there! You're theories are incredible and the achievement of perpetual motion in and of itself is amazing but there it is. It's a nice thing to look at and has little to no practical application whatsoever."

Ionaa frowned. "Rodney, Brinaak will not accept this. He will simply be convinced that you are feigning failure."

"I know." Rodney said bitterly, his voice permeated with defeat. "I've barely slept. I've been over it a thousand times. The capacitor cannot be harnessed without some sort of friction and the introduction of even the most infinitesimal amount of friction causes the production of power to drop steadily until it ceases completely."

He sighed. "The only solution would be to constantly recreate motion in the capacitor, which would basically only allow you to multiply the amount of power that could be extracted from an existing power source. In other words, if we had a Zed PM with 10 capacity, we could get 50 out of it but the device in and of itself is useless as a power source."

Ionaa sighed, Rodney still felt the need to dumb down his explanations. It was an annoying habit. She recognized that her annoyance was not really due to anything Rodney said or did. She liked him. He was a good man; a brilliant man. And if he didn't give Brinaak what he wanted, he was going to be a dead man.

"Are you sure? There is nothing you can do? Nothing you can try?" She said, basically repeating her previous question.

"Believe me; if it's out there, I've tried it. It's hopeless." He sat down and bowed his head. "It's impossible."

Ionaa looked around the room. This was her laboratory. This is where she had spent most of her adult life, working for her people. Ionaa looked at the defeated man before her. Her mind went back to the first terrible days of his confinement when Brinaak had been "persuading" him and the decision was made.

"Well, then we will have to devise an effective means of deceiving Brinaak into thinking we continue to make progress while we plan your escape." She said simply.

Rodney's head shot up.

"Escape?" He said uncertainly. "How?"

Ionaa smiled. "Rodney, you and I are the most intelligent persons in our respective societies. I am certain we can come up with something."

* * *

(…to be continued…)


	5. Chapter 5

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own SGA. This is just for fun. Don't shoot!

Author's note: Teyla and Jennifer refer in this chapter to events which took place in Talent Night: Rodney McKay Plays the Blues, which was a short, short story I wrote about a week ago. I tried to write it in such a way that you wouldn't need to read Talent Night but if you're lost, you can refer back to it. Sorry, about that but it just fit so well. This chapter also features the music of Regina Spektor.

* * *

Teyla was a bit frustrated as she walked from the training room back to her quarters. It was still difficult to find partners willing to spar with her. After Rodney's death she had become a bit too aggressive and potential partners were still wary.

As Teyla neared the entrance to the largest recreation area, she paused. She heard music. It was the sound of a piano, the strange unwieldy instrument the Lantians had brought from Earth. Teyla had been fascinated by the complexity of the music the instrument was capable of producing. Without any conscious thought or effort, Teyla turned toward the sound.

The music was full of emotion. The chords played were full and rich and played in a quick yet rolling beat. Even though they were being played in quick succession, one would continue to reverberate as a second and even third was played. The hurried yet lingering darkness of the notes seemed to Teyla to speak to her pain and pulled at her heart.

She turned the corner and could now see the pianist. Jennifer Keller, her cheeks flushed and damp, was playing but in no way Teyla had ever seen a person play the instrument. Her entire body seemed to be involved in the process, her head bowed and eyes closed. Then Jennifer started to sing and Teyla caught her breath.

_I must go on standing_

_I'm not my own_

_It's not my choice_

The emotion in the woman's voice was palpable. Teyla found herself walking toward the instrument.

_Apres moi le deluge_

_After me_

_The flood_

_Fevrale dostat chernil I plakat_

_Pisat O Fevrale navsryd_

Teyla wasn't sure why, but when she reached the piano, she reached out her hand and grasped the doctor's shoulder. Jennifer stopped playing abruptly and turned, startled.

"Teyla!" She exclaimed and hurriedly wiped at the tears on her face. Teyla saw the pain and embarrassment and felt a great deal of compassion for her. She had come to know Jennifer very well since their ordeal after the abduction of Teyla's people. "I'm sorry. Was I too loud?" Jennifer looked over Teyla's shoulder as though Teyla might be leading a delegation of annoyed Atlantians.

"You were not disturbing me." Teyla said softly, kindly ignoring Jennifer's continued efforts to dry her tears. "I was very moved by the music." Teyla's brows rose. "I was also surprised to see that it was you who played. If you play so well, why did you not…" Teyla stopped before finishing the question as she suddenly remembered it had been Rodney who had accompanied Jennifer at last year's talent show.

"Why did I wrangle Rodney when I could do it myself, you mean?" Jennifer smiled sadly. "Part of me just wanted to see if he would do it for me. Part of me wanted to spend the time rehearsing with him. Part of me wanted the rest of Atlantis to see how amazing he was. But mostly it was," Jennifer paused and sighed heavily.

"When he talked about music. I could tell. I could hear it in his voice; in the way he described it, that he missed it. I knew that blasted teacher had really destroyed Rodney's faith in his abilities. You know why he quit?" Jennifer asked but didn't wait for an answer. "It was because he loved music so much. His teacher said that he was "a fine clinical player" but that he had no grasp of the art. Rodney just decided that he wouldn't ruin it by doing a lack luster job."

Jennifer turned at last and looked into Teyla's eyes. "But you know, he was great. He was just great." Teyla embraced her and held her as she cried, fighting back her own tears.

"It is alright, Jennifer." And her voice faltered. "I miss him, too."

"I keep expecting him to turn a corner. I catch myself looking for him in the mess hall. I hear the door chime and before I've had a chance to really think about it, I'm wondering if it's him. When will that stop? I can't stand it and yet, I don't want it to stop, somehow. I miss him so much but it's like I'm afraid that if it ever does stop hurting, that's when he really will be dead. Does that make any sense?"

Teyla smiled damply. "It makes as much sense as anything in life does. I have found the death of Rodney to be most troubling. I have lost so much in my life but I had come to think of Rodney, John and Ronon as sacred. I don't know why. We have come so close to death on so many occasions."

Teyla smiled, "Perhaps that is the reason. We had all cheated death so often; I, perhaps, began to think we were immune. It has been hard to lose Rodney but also to lose that faith I had not even realized that I possessed. I no longer feel secure. I fear for the lives of my friends in a way I have not for some time."

Jennifer squeezed Teyla reassuringly and Teyla instinctively wiped a tear from the young doctor's face. Jennifer leaned her head against Teyla's shoulder and felt a restfulness there she had craved.

"I'm so tired." She sighed and she was.

"I am as well." Teyla replied truthfully. "I am bone weary."

"Thank you, Teyla."

"You are most welcome, my friend."

Teyla and Jennifer sat on the piano bench, leaning against each other and finding a moment of peace in each other's arms.

* * *

Meanwhile, across the galaxy:

"Okay, there is no way we're going to escape from this place." Rodney said simply.

"Rodney!" Ionaa admonished. "You must not think in such a defeatist fashion."

"I'm not being a pessimist. I'm being a realist. It's just not going to happen." Rodney said quickly. "So, we need to find a way to make Brinaak take us out."

"What?" Ionaa exclaimed.

"No! What did you take stupid pills this morning or something? Not, "take us out" kill us. Take us out of the complex. We need to think of some pretense, some ruse that would cause him to take us both out of the complex."

"You." Ionaa corrected.

"What?" Rodney asked exasperatedly.

"Take you out of the complex." Ionaa corrected again. "We are orchestrating your escape not mine."

"Oh yeah, like I'm going to leave you to the tender mercies of that maniac. You know there's no way he won't believe you were involved in my escape. You're coming with me, end of discussion."

Ionaa opened her mouth to protest but Rodney ignored her.

"Moving on to actual relevant matters. How do we get Blinaak to take us on a field trip?" Rodney said pensively.

"Field trip?" Ionaa asked. "A trip to a field?"

"Well, it's not a literal trip to a field it's…wait! It could be!" Rodney's voice had switched from portraying impatient exasperation to unadulterated excitement seamlessly and Ionaa was now thoroughly lost.

"Rodney, you are not making sense." She said with a good deal of exasperation in her own voice now.

"A field trip! We tell him I've thought of a solution to the friction problem but it's a device that I need from one of the Ancient supplies that Atlantis found on one of our off world missions. We didn't have any use for it, so we left it where we found it."

"Why? Why would you not take it with you and explore other uses for it?"

"Well, yes, of course, that's what we would really do but he doesn't need to know that. Does he?" Rodney looked questioningly at Ionaa. "My experience with the man is sort of limited to him trying to scare the crap out of me. Is he the sort to ask that question?"

Ionaa considered for a moment. "Brinaak is suspicious but he is also greedy. His greed often outweighs his caution. That is how you came to be here. I do believe that he might be willing to remove you to another location if you present that case to him." Ionaa said. Then she frowned.

"However, he would send a large group of armed guards to prevent you from escaping. It would be little better than being confined here."

"Ah, well, little better is still better." Rodney said cheerfully and Ionaa couldn't help but smile. Perhaps their brilliant minds could think their way out of this box after all.

* * *

A/N: Okay, I'm tired and Teyla and Jennifer made me cry. So, I'm going to bed but I will write and post the exciting escape tomorrow.


	6. The Escape!

**DISCLAIMER: **I don't own SGA. This is just for fun. Don't shoot!

Author's Note: And now…dum Dum DUM! The escape.

* * *

Rodney was nervous as they approached the gate. No, he was terrified. There were so many questions. Would the device work? A better question, would the ear plugs he'd designed for Ionaa and himself work? Should he use the device before or after they dialed the gate?

His stomach twisted fiercely. The terror was worse than any he'd felt in a long time. He realized that for quite some time he had relied so completely on his friends to back him up, he trusted them to pick up any slack he'd let fall. They were his safety net. This time he knew there would be no back up, no net, no last minute Hail Mary. This time he was free climbing.

Rodney, Ionaa and the "honor guard" as Rodney had named them reached the gate. The officer, Rodney had no grasp whatsoever on the honorifics of the Ninion's military, started to dial the address of P2X-924 and Rodney finally made the decision to let the man finish dialing before he set off the device.

As the wormhole engaged, Rodney gave Ionaa the signal and pressed the button hidden in his pocket. There was a fuzzy, whizzing noise, like the buzzing of a bee and then a massive sonic wave emitted from Rodney. Even with his specially designed ear plugs Rodney reeled but recovered quickly when he saw that all of the honor guard were strewn about the ground in awkward looking poses.

Ionaa opened her mouth in what Rodney assumed was a triumphant shout. He quickly removed his ear plugs and allowed himself a brief moment of triumph.

"Rodney, you are indeed a genius!" Ionaa praised, smiling brightly.

Rodney quickly grabbed the officers radio and snapped, "Yes, we can talk about me later, when we're safe. Through the gate, now!" He started jogging toward the gate, grabbing Ionaa's arm and pulling her with him.

Ionaa was still giggling nervously and Rodney recognized the after effects of a rush of adrenaline. Then suddenly Ionaa made a strange hiccupping sound as she lurched forward. Rodney felt a hollowness in his stomach. He could also, by this time, recognize the effects of a gun shot.

He felt adrenaline rushing through his own system as a roaring pounding in his ears and shifted his grip from Ionaa's wrist to her waist as he carried her the rest of the way to the gate. Just as he approached the event horizon he felt an impact with his leg. He screamed unabashedly as he felt the bone below his knee fracture, separate and finally rip through muscle as he placed weight on it for the final jump through the gate.

As soon as he was through, he unceremoniously dropped Ionaa and scrambled as quickly and as best he could toward the DHD. He had to get to the set button and disconnect the wormhole before the guard _Stupid, should have thought of that!_ Brinaak had obviously placed out of sight followed him through.

His leg was on fire and refused to hold any weight, the muscles clearly damaged. Rodney hopped and finally fell forward onto the DHD, pressing the set button. No one had followed. Quickly, Rodney began dialing.

_Three symbols._

He had to establish the outgoing wormhole before they could dial in.

_Six symbols and then the large set button._

Rodney felt the strange displacement that came with the initial wooshing vortex of the established wormhole.

"Was that me?" He asked himself faintly.

Ionaa still lay prone on the ground where he had dropped her. No one exited the gate and Rodney heaved a sigh that caused a painful hitch in his chest. _Too much excursion after all that time cooped up._ Rodney thought. _Gonna need lots more training when you get back. Ronon is going to eat you alive._

He hobbled toward the gate. As he reached Ionaa he realized he was never going to be able to pick her up. He wasn't even going to be able to turn her around.

"Sorry, Ionaa." He gasped and he grabbed her by her, thankfully, securely fastened boots and began to drag her forward. This time when he broached the gate, he continue to drag her until they had reached the DHD. As he reached out to start dialing the wonderfully familiar symbols for Atlantis Rodney felt an odd tickle on his arm.

He watched in abstract fascination as blood poured off of his elbow and onto the DHD. _How did that get there?_ He thought dazedly. _Doesn't matter. Dial the gate, Rodney._

He finished entering the symbols and hit the large round set button. As the wormhole established, Rodney set the radio to the control room frequency.

"Atlantis! This is Rodney McKay. I'm not dead. I'm, um, I, uh," Rodney struggled to think straight, to even breath. "I don't have my IDC transmitter. I memorized the number though. So, I, uh, I could…ah!" Rodney's voice was growing weaker. Even his exclamation had lacked much volume.

"Maybe I could give you this address and you could come get me? I'm kind of hurt and I think…I think…please let me in."

Rodney heard a familiarly raspy voice. "Rodney! The shield's down! Get in here! We'll have a medical team waiting."

"Okay" Rodney whispered. "Okay, okay, I can do this." He tried to hop again but his strength was gone. He crawled forward and grabbed Ionaa's arm. He pulled and then crawled. Pulled, then crawled.

"Rodney? Where are you?" John's voice again.

"Coming." Rodney gasped. "Coming."

He grunted, "Hurt. Leg. Coming. Wait." The last word came out more as a sob.

_Pull. Crawl. Pull. Crawl. You can do it. Keep crawling. _

He was at the gate. He held on tight to Ionaa's arm lifted himself as much as he could and hurled himself through.

As soon as he landed on the other side arms were around him. They pulled him and he pulled Ionaa.

Rodney looked up and saw John. He saw Jennifer. She was leaning over and asking questions. Rodney wanted to reach out and touch her but his arms wouldn't move. He just stared at her. Drinking in the sight of her and John and the incredibly beautiful stained glass windows of the Atlantis gate room.

He was home.

* * *

A/N: I'm not done yet! For those of you who love epilogue (like me) this is not the end. There will be the obligatory "in the infirmary" scene and then, of course, we'll deal with the business of resurrecting Rodney. Please, please, please, pretty please, let me know what you think of the escape. I think I can fix it if it's broken. Thanks so much for all the great input so far. )


	7. The Obligatory Infirmary Scenes

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own SGA. I'm just having fun. Don't Shoot!

* * *

Rodney eyed Jennifer warily from the infirmary bed.

"You know, when I first got here I remember actually being happy to see you." He said.

Jennifer smiled and held up her hands.

"No more tests. Promise. Just coming over to see how you're doing."

"Well, you're the doctor. Shouldn't you be telling me? I mean, I know all of you generally expect me to know everything about everything but I draw the line at medical." Rodney said.

Jennifer checked Rodney's monitor and reached out to touch his forehead. She didn't really need to take his temperature and, if she did, a thermometer would have worked much better. But Jennifer found herself taking every little opportunity she was given to touch him and make sure he was really there. Even two weeks later, she could hardly believe it.

Jennifer almost shuddered as she remembered Rodney's miraculous return. She had heard the unscheduled off world activation call and then, shortly after, the call for a medical team to the gate room. There had been no explanation and when she arrived it was to see Rodney stumbling through on hands and knees. He was wearing an odd looking pale brown and deep red costume. As she had approached she had recognized that particular shade of red.

Rodney had been gasping for breath, clearly in a great deal of pain but smiling all the same. There had been tears in his eyes as he stared at her. She had checked his pulse and asked questions but he only smiled slightly and then became completely unresponsive.

It had taken Jennifer hours to repair the damage to Rodney's chest. He had coded twice during the procedure and then again when she had moved to working on his leg. In recovery, he had coded one more time and she really thought it would be the last one, that she wouldn't get him back. It had taken everything in her arsenal to get his heart beating again, but she had done it. Here he was.

"Hey," Rodney said, breaking into her reverie, "Where'd you go?"

He was looking at her now and all pretext of petulance and annoyance dropped.

"You okay?" He asked with concern.

"Yeah, Rodney. I'm fine." She laughed and felt tears come to her eyes that she quickly blinked away. "I'm just fine and dandy. What about you?"

Rodney smiled sadly. "I still feel, I don't know. Ionaa, she was a good person, you know? She didn't deserve..."

"It wasn't your fault Rodney." Jennifer squeezed his arm reassuringly. She coudln't imagine how he felt. She couldn't imagine the determination it had taken for him to pull her body through considering the injuries he had suffered. He had asked about the woman repeatedly and finally, Jennifer had had to tell him that she was dead. That she had been killed almost instantly by a bullet wound to the chest.

"But you were so brave, Rodney." She had said to the still weak and barely conscious man.

"Not enough." He had whispered in reply.

Looking at him now, Jennifer could see he was still hurting but this was a wound she couldn't figure out how to heal.

* * *

John walked into Woolsey's office. He had a pretty good idea what this discussion was going to be about. He smiled, ready for whatever Woolsey wanted to dish out.

"Colonel. Thank you for being so prompt." Woolsey said, in his quiet way. "Won't you sit down?"

"I think I will." John smiled.

"Yes, I think you probably have your suspicions about what I wish to discuss with you."

Woolsey paused as though waiting for a response but John said nothing. Woolsey cleared his throat.

"Yes, well. I think it would be better to state in the report that we were in agreement about the decision to lower the shield." He said simply.

"What?" John asked surprised. He had thought Woolsey was going to rake him over the coals.

"I think it would be better if the report indicates that you and I agreed that lowering the shield was the best course of action." Woolsey repeated and his tone of voice indicated that he actually might suspect that John didn't hear his previous statement.

"I think it is important to not leave any room for second guessing in the future, should that decision come under review." Woolsey continued.

John absently noticed that the little politician sure said the words "I think" a lot before asking incredulously, "You want to share blame?"

Woolsey sighed. "Lowering the shield was the correct decision. It is the decision I would have made given the time and opportunity to assess the situation. If that decision is called into question later and both you and I are equally responsible…well, the chances of any action being taken against both the highest ranking civilian and the highest ranking military officer is extremely unlikely."

John studied the man for a moment. "You're a good man, Woolsey." He said at last.

Woolsey blinked.

"I do actually try, Colonel." Woolsey said at last. "How is Dr. McKay? I haven't been down to the infirmary in a few days."

John smiled. "Doc says he's recovering nicely. It's nice to have him out of the touch and go zone. He's even started complaining again."

"Has he said anything about the evidence Dr. Keller found that he'd been tortured?"

The smile slipped from John's face quickly. "No. He hasn't mentioned it."

John frowned as he remembered an exhausted Jennifer apprising them of Rodney's status after the long surgery.

* * *

"He's still in critical condition. He's lost a lot of blood and suffered a great deal of trauma. We've had to resuscitate him several times already. I've managed to repair all of the damage and, if he can get through the next 48 hours, I'm optimistic that he'll make a full recovery."

John released a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. His legs actually felt a little unstable underneath him but that could have been because he'd been pacing outside the infirmary for the nine hours Keller had been operating.

"There is something else." Jennifer said then and she hesitated.

"There are scars…signs…What I mean is, we have found evidence that at some point in his incarceration, Rodney was tortured."

John clenched his fists and teeth as he listened to Jennifer describe the various wounds on Rodney's body. The most disturbing for John was when she speculated that at one point they had bound Rodney's hands to his feet and drug his, most likely naked, body across a rough surface, then doused the resulting deep abrasions in a caustic material.

Woolsey questioned if Rodney was Rodney or a clone.

"No, I sent off tests to identify any genetic duplication. The results came back while I was still in surgery. This is definitely our Rodney." She smiled.

Woolsey frowned. "I don't understand. If that's Dr. McKay, who did we cremate and throw from the Jumper."

John jumped in then, "I'm guessing a clone of some kind."

"One would think that, yes, but wouldn't that have been apparent in the autopsy? Dr. Keller, did you not test for that possibility?"

Jennifer flushed and bowed her head. She answered quietly, "I didn't perform Rodney's autopsy."

"What?" Woolsey said, surprised.

"I didn't…I was very…I couldn't bring myself to perform the autopsy. I discussed it with the SGC and since Rodney had requested cremation, they indicated that the autopsy could be performed by a Navy ME back on Earth. The ME wouldn't have known how to identify a clone. He wouldn't have even known how to check." Jennifer's voice was rough and emotional.

John saw she was on the verge of tears. She was mentally and physically exhausted from the surgery and didn't need Woolsey poking at her.

"I think maybe you should get some rest, Doc." John said, reaching out to grip her elbow reassuringly. "You just did a really great job saving our boy's life in there." He smiled at her. He could see it there in her eyes, the nagging voice of guilt in her head screaming that if she'd done the autopsy they'd have known it wasn't the real Rodney. They'd have been able to go after him.

"It's not your fault, Jennifer." He said softly, willing her to listen. "Whatever happened, whatever any of us did or didn't do doesn't matter. Rodney's here. You're making him better. He's going to be better."

Tears dropped silently from Jennifer's eyes. Her lips tightened and she nodded briskly.

"Thank you." She said at last and with a quick, tired smile, walked away.

John walked into the infirmary still thinking about that tense time, was it only two weeks ago? As he approached he saw Jennifer reach out and brush Rodney's fringe from his eyes. It was weird seeing McKay with longer hair, but hair does grow a significant amount in three months time.

"Hey, Buddy." John said brightly as he approached the bed. "She given you walking papers yet?"

Rodney looked hopefully at Jennifer.

"No." Jennifer said firmly. "If it were just the leg or just the chest I'd be tempted to say yes but getting around on that break would put too much strain on your torso right now. You need to stay where you can get assistance with the basics until I'm satisfied that you won't aggravate the chest injuries." She sighed. "If we were on Earth I could discharge you to a SNF unit or maybe even arrange for home health."

Rodney opened his mouth then but Jennifer forestalled whatever suggestion or protest he had been about to make.

"But we're not on Earth and we don't have the resources. You'll just have to stay here where I can keep an eye on you. However, I'll make a deal with you."

Rodney looked hopeful again.

"If you promise to be a good boy and do what I tell you," Jennifer said indulgently, "I'll let Radek visit AND I'll let you have a laptop."

Rodney turned to John and said with mock gravity. "I love this woman."

John laughed. Yeah, it was good to have the old Rodney back.

* * *

A/N: Only one more chapter left. To wrap up loose ends (Teyla, Ronon & Jeannie). Hope you've all enjoyed and thanks so much for reading!


	8. Jeannie

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own SGA. This is just for fun. Don't shoot!

Author's Note: Mmmm, sibling goodnes. )

* * *

Col. Samantha Carter approached the cheery home. She remembered her first encounter with Jeannie Miller. Sam had been pleasantly surprised at, well, how pleasant Jeannie had been despite the fact that Jeannie was vehemently apposed to what Sam had been proposing.

It was Sam's experience with Jeannie, as well as her unique experience with people "coming back from the dead" more than her relatively close proximity that had caused the task of informing Jeannie of Rodney's resurrection to fall to Sam. The thought of exactly how to break the news, and how Jeannie would react had been quite a preoccupation during Sam's flight to Canada. She still had no clear idea in her head. _How can you predict something like this?_ She thought as she noticed the cheerful and amusing welcome mat and rang the bell.

The door opened and Sam recognized Jeannie's husband, Caleb.

"She's not going anywhere. She wants nothing to do with you. She doesn't want to listen to whatever problem you've got that needs solving. Please, get off my property." The normally well-tempered man said curtly and then he shut the door.

Sam stood on the stoop in stunned silence.

Quite a few scenarios had presented themselves on her long journey but this was not one of them. Sam wondered if she should ring the bell again and try to explain the situation. She had her mobile. Maybe she should call? But if she were going to share this news over the phone, she could have just stayed in Wyoming.

Sam stood and considered her options for a long moment and then finally pulled out her mobile and dialed. She heard the phone ringing inside the house, a strange echo to the ringing emitting from the mobile. No one answered. That was fine. She had expected that. The answering machine played the family's cheerful, polite message.

_BEEP_

"Jeannie, I know you're upset and you have every right to be. I'm not here to ask you for a favor or to go back to...well, to go back. I'm here because I have information about your brother. Information I really, really think you want to know. I can call back and leave another message with that information but I'd much rather tell you face to face. It's your choice."

Sam pressed the end button on her mobile and waited.

She heard hushed yet fervent voices coming from the house. The couple were obviously arguing about her proposal but trying to keep their voices down, aware that Sam would overhear raised voices. Sam tried not to try to listen but it was difficult. Finally, she heard Jeannie's voice ring out loudly, "I know that and I don't care. I want to hear what she has to say. I'm a big girl. I know how to say no." The voice had been coming steadily closer to the door, which opened suddenly.

Sam almost didn't recognize the Jeannie that stood in the doorway. There was no trace of the affable cheer with which Sam always associated her. Jeannie's posture was antagonistic. Her physical appearance had also altered. She was much thinner than Sam remembered and there were dark hollows under both eyes.

"Come in." Jeannie said and walked away from the open door. Sam entered, shutting the door behind her. Despite herself, she blush awkwardly under Caleb's disapproving glare as she followed Jeannie into the living room.

Jeannie didn't offer her a seat. She simply turned and faced Sam with arms crossed and said, "So, what do you have to say?"

"Um, I know I'm not your favorite person right now…"

Jeannie snorted.

"…but I really do think it would be better if you were sitting down." Sam glanced to the doorway where Caleb stood, as though keeping guard. "Maybe Caleb could come in and sit with you?"

Jeannie sighed and looked questioningly at Caleb who entered the room. They both sat and stared expectantly at Sam.

Sam decided to go ahead and sit in the chair that allowed her to face the antagonistic couple.

"Okay," she began. "This is going to be a little difficult to explain. So, I'm just going to tell you and then explain it after the fact, okay?"

Jeannie's expression changed from indicating controlled anger to wary curiosity.

"Okaaaay." She answered slowly.

"Okay." Sam said. She realized she was stalling. "Okay, um, Rodney isn't…Rodney wasn't actually…He isn't…dead."

Jeannie and Caleb stared for a moment.

"What?" Caleb finally asked.

"I saw him." Jeannie said then, Caleb's question seemingly ripping her free of whatever line of thought she had been caught in. "I saw his body when they brought it to the…" Jeannie choked on the word, suddenly overcome with emotion. "I saw him!" She exclaimed.

"I know. We all thought it was him. It wasn't."

"You think I don't know my own brother!" Jeannie was angry again now.

"Yes, Jeannie. But it wasn't Rodney. It was a clone. We didn't realize it until the real Rodney escaped and made his way back to us. We didn't know either. The medical examiner who did his autopsy couldn't tell it wasn't him." Sam said placatingly.

"A clone?" Caleb exclaimed. "Are you serious? Faster than light travel, drawing power from alternate dimensions, alien races and technology, travel through stable freaking wormholes and now CLONES!?"

Jeannie just sat quietly, staring yet unseeing.

"He's alive." She whispered finally and tears dripped unceremoniously down her cheeks and from her chin. "You're sure it's him? You're really, really sure he's alive?" She said, and Sam could hear the fear in her voice. That Jeannie was afraid to hope, afraid to believe there was hope.

Sam leaned forward and grabbed Jeannie's hands. "Yes, Jeannie. I promise. Rodney is alive. It's really him. He's really, _really_ alive."

Jeannie finally looked up at Sam. Eyes bright with lingering tears she asked, "Can I go see him?"

Sam smiled. "We're arranging for a Puddle Jumper to visit through the intergalactic network. They're scheduled to pick you up early tomorrow morning, while it's still dark. We didn't want to send the Jumper until we were absolutely sure you were going to be on board. The Jumper will be cloaked but the pilot will give your back door a knock. I think you'll recognize him."

"Col. Sheppard?" Jeannie asked quickly.

_Those McKay's. _Sam thought. _Gotta give it to them, they're sharp as tacks._

"Yes, Col. Sheppard insisted he be your pilot." Sam paused and enjoyed the couple's happiness for a moment before moving on to the unpleasant part of her task.

"Jeannie." She said and could see that the change in her tone had caught the brilliant woman's attention. "There's something else."

Jeannie nodded, listening.

"You remember, I mentioned that Rodney escaped. Well, all this time that we've been led to believe Rodney was dead. He was actually being help prisoner by a group of humans in the Pegasus galaxy. They wanted his help implementing a theory concerning power production."

Jeannie had begun to frown. Sam cleared her suddenly tight throat.

"Rodney, initially refused to help them and they coerced him." Sam said flatly.

"They coerced him?" Caleb asked. "You mean…they didn't…how exactly did they 'coerce' him?"

"They, um, they used various methods, which included, um, physical coercion." Sam said uncomfortably.

"They hurt him?" Jeannie asked. "Did they…how bad?"

Sam's eyes dropped. "I haven't been given the details but from what I've heard, it was...it was pretty bad. He hasn't talked about it but there are…scars."

"Oh my…" Jeannie said faintly as her eyes filled again.

"You should also know that Rodney actually escaped two weeks ago." Sam said quickly trying to get in the explanation before the protestations. "The reason…" She said over Jeannie's outraged, "_What_?"

"The reason we didn't tell you immediately," Sam started again with upraised hands, "is because Rodney was very badly injured. It was touch and go for several days and we didn't…we didn't want to tell you he was alive only to make you watch him die again."

Sam sighed. "We decided to be sure that he would recover before telling you about it. We didn't want for you to have to lose him twice."

Jeannie considered that for a moment.

"I can understand that. But, two weeks?" She said at last. "Surely he didn't take two weeks to stabilize?"

"Well, no." Sam conceded. "Once he had stabilized he requested that we wait. He wanted to be somewhat fit. So that, when we brought you he would be, well, as he put it, strong enough to help you, um, deal with the situation. He thought it would be best for you."

Jeannie rolled her eyes. "Oh, that is so very like Mer. Poor, stupid Meredith. Like thinking he was dead an extra two weeks is better than seeing him sick? Does he not _realize_ how many times I've seen him sick? He's sick more than he is well, for crying out loud! Oh boy, I'm going to have a few words with him about this.."

Sam leaned back and smiled as Jeannie continued to rant about her brother's patronizing streak, idiocy, inability to employ common courtesy, and so on and so forth. It was really good to hear.

* * *

Jeannie couldn't believe how nervous she was about this. It was so very weird and strange and confusing and did she mention strange? She had no idea what she would say, what should she say?

She turned the corner and when she saw him, she had to pause. Two weeks or no two weeks, he still looked terribly wane and frail. _Oh Mer,_ Jeannie thought sadly, _What did they do to you?_ She decided to focus only on how very, truly wonderful it was to see him again. She took a deep breath and walked into the room.

Meredith was dressed and sitting at the table but Jeannie could see the wheelchair in the corner, so when he started trying, awkwardly, to rise she said sternly,

"Get your butt back in that seat, Mer! I think Jennifer might actually give me a bed next to yours in the infirmary if I let you hurt yourself." Jeannie smiled.

_That came out pretty well._ She thought.

Meredith had relaxed obediently, and Jeannie suspected gratefully, at her admonition and she sat next to him. Suddenly, things were awkward. She didn't know what to say and she suspected he didn't either. Where do you begin?

"Jeannie?" Mer's voice sounded so strange.

"Yeah, Mer?" She asked reflexively.

"I'm…I'm so sorry."

Jeannie couldn't believe it. Meredith was crying.

"I'm so sorry." He said again. "John told me, I think he was actually trying to make me _feel _better the _idiot_, he told me how hard it was for you. Maybe he told me because he thought I wouldn't consider your feelings. Like I'd really just expect you to be fine and dandy after thinking I was dead. I know I'm not exactly the world's best people person but I'm not a complete imbecile. I know…"

As Meredith spoke his voice steadily lost the tremble and it occurred to Jeannie as she smiled damply that ranting really was Mer's element.

"…I know that…that you love me." Meredith said simple and looked up into her eyes then and Jeannie felt them fill with tears.

"I know how I would have felt if I thought you were gone and I'm...I'm sorry I didn't get out sooner. I could have gotten out sooner if I'd just…"

"Meredith Rodney McKay! You stop that _**Right Now**_." Jeannie said forcefully. She knelt down in front of him and held his eyes firmly with her own.

"This was _not_ your fault."

Meredith blinked at her, his lips clamped shut.

"Say it, Mer. Say, 'This was not my fault.'"

Meredith only stared at her.

"You think I'm kidding? Say it!" Jeannie yelled. "Let me here it, Mer."

"This was not my fault." Meredith whispered then, his eyes fixed on his clenched fists.

Jeannie shook her head. "Not good enough. Again."

"Seriously?" He said then and looked up, annoyed. Jeannie smiled. _There you go._

"Mer, I need to be sure you understand this. Those people did this, all of this. I know you feel guilty about giving in and helping them but you know what? You were right. It was a good thing to explore that technology and I know that you were thinking if you helped them they might let you bring it back to Atlantis."

Meredith's head snapped up, his eyes bright.

"I've known you all my life, Mer." Jeannie smiled. "I think I know how that melon of yours works things out by now. I know you want to make this all your fault. You tried to make Mom, even Dad all your fault but, listen to me now:"

Jeannie grabbed his chin in her right hand as he tried to look away.

"None of that was your fault either. I am so sick of everyone around here apologizing. It wasn't John or Ronon or Teyla's fault that you were all attacked and they didn't manage to miraculously win the day for once. It was _their_ fault, those Ninions, for attacking you. It wasn't Jennifer's fault they tricked all of us into thinking you were dead. It was _their_ fault for tricking us. It wasn't your fault for making the only rational choice you could under some of the worst circumstances imaginable…" and here Jeannie's voice took on an extra layer of venom. "…It was _their_ fault for putting you in that situation."

She sighed.

"And it wasn't your fault Ionaa died." She said finally and saw him wince. "It wasn't, Mer. It was _their_ fault for killing her. I know what you're going to say. But I also know, that you know, if your roles were reversed, you'd have done it for her."

Tears trickled down Meredith's cheeks and Jeannie reached up and wiped them away.

"Mer, please look at me."

He obeyed. Jeannie took in the lingering pain and guilt in his eyes and instinctively took a deep breath.

"I love you." She said simply.

He smiled and a lot of the pain, even some of the guilt was suddenly gone.

"I love you, too." He replied.

Then Jeannie grinned wryly.

"I may have made a special trip to a certain doughnut shop before the Jumper arrived." She said slyly.

"Meche's?" Meredith said in surprised excitement. "Really?"

"There might be a few Meche's doughnuts left; if John didn't eat them all." Jennifer said wickedly and leaned back to enjoy Meredith's sputtering.

* * *

A/N: Okay, I know I said just one more chapter but it turns out that Jeannie gets one all to herself and Ronon and Teyla have to wait their turn, lol. I know that a lot of people were really waiting for the siblings to reunite and I hope I didn't disappoint them. The bit about the doughnuts is sort of an inside joke as it refers to the theme of Doughnuts say, I love you. My very first fanfic.


	9. The End

DISCLAIMER: I don't own SGA. This is just for fun. Don't shoot.

Author's Note: Sorry for the delay. I commute via bicycle and bus and had an accident yesterday loading my bike on the bus bike wrack. Mir (my bike, yes I named my bike) slipped and dropped down unexpectedly. Something caught one of the straps of my helmet and jerked my head with it, wrenching my neck. The drop wrenched my elbows. I sliced my hand somehow and when I fell with Mir on top of me I bruised the holy crap out of my legs. So, when I got home last night (I still had to pedal a couple of miles after all that) I was a sack o' pain.

Then I had to work this morning and when I got home two deer (deer are the most stupid animals on God's great Earth, I swear) had gotten in the open fence and then couldn't remember how to get out. I had to herd them out because they were going to kill themselves just running repeatedly into the fence, which took forever (stupid deer). I thought one of them had killed itself but it was just stunned. When I finally got them out I was, once again, a sack o' pain.

But I'm feeling better now and ready to conclude this, the world's longest author's note, and the story. I hope that everyone has enjoyed reading it at least half as much as I've enjoyed writing it.

* * *

Rodney looked around at the alien planet. He glanced at Sheppard, Ronon and Teyla and couldn't suppress a smile. It felt so good to be back on the team again, to be off world and to have everything back to normal.

He looked down at his instruments but there were no indicators of technology, only a concentration of life signs to the east. He turned to tell Sheppard and stopped short.

Sheppard was gone. So were Teyla and Ronon.

Rodney felt a sick feeling of dread creeping up his throat.

"Teyla!" He called. "Ronon! Sheppard!" There was no answer.

This was not happening.

Rodney saw movement in the corner of his eye and turned franticly, close to panic. What he saw was absolutely shocking.

"Ionna?" He breathed uncertainly.

The frail woman smiled at him. Then surreptitiously put her finger over her lips signaling silence. She gestured for Rodney to follow her and then turned and walked into the woods on the far side of the clearing.

"Ionaa!" Rodney called. "Ionaa, Wait!" He jogged after her, still shocked. He suddenly remembered how it was his friends had come to think of him as dead. Clones. Had the Ninions made an Ionaa clone? Was she still alive? Well, obviously, either she was or a clone was or possibly a twin sister, though she'd never mentioned a twin sister.

Rodney's head whirled with the questions and uncertain theories, trying to explain what he was seeing. He kept running after Ionaa but couldn't seem to close the distance, though she didn't appear to be running.

Rodney ran through the trees which suddenly ended and he found himself on a beach, no sign of Ionaa anywhere in the pristine sand. It was beautiful, the kind of crystal clear beach that are pictured in travel agencies. The foliage around him had somehow changed from predominantly fir trees to palms.

_I'm dreaming._ Rodney realized suddenly. He looked out over the water and noticed a figure. It was a man; shriveled and old and wearing a mask. He was standing about 100 meters away, under the water. It was impossible but, Rodney reasoned that since this was a dream, nothing was really impossible was it?

Rodney recognized the mask, Jinto had often played with it; an exaggerated rendering of a Wraith's features. For some reason the old man filled Rodney with inexplicable dread and fear. He suddenly knew, in the way you just know things in dreams, that the moment he looked away from him, the old man would suddenly be standing directly in front of him.

Rodney didn't know why that should be so scary but it was. It was terrifying. He felt his heart pounding in his chest.

_Maybe if he knows, I know. Maybe he won't do it._ Rodney though desperately.

"I can see you!" Rodney screamed. "I can see you!" Rodney's voice was panicked and verging on tears. He couldn't blink. He couldn't. As soon as he did the man would just appear. He couldn't look away. He couldn't blink.

Rodney blinked.

As he opened his eyes he felt a scream barely caught in his throat, for the old man was standing directly in front of him; His face inscrutable behind the mask. Rodney began to cry in earnest now.

"Don't." He begged. "Don't take it off, please." Rodney suddenly knew what he was afraid of. He was terrified of seeing what was behind the mask.

The old man slowly lifted his hands to the mask.

"Please!" Rodney cried. "Please don't!"

The man started to lift the mask slowly. His chin was exposed.

Rodney felt as though he were choking on his own heart.

"Oh please, please, DON'T!" He screamed shutting his eyes in absolute terror.

"Rodney!"

Jennifer was shaking him.

Rodney blinked away tears and heard the erratic beating of his heart roaring in his ears echoed eerily in the monitor by his bed.

"Jennifer." He gasped, his relief complete. He was exhausted. "Oh, thank god. I thought I wouldn't wake up in time."

Jennifer looked pained. "It's okay. You're okay now. No one can touch you."

Rodney tried to slow his breathing. He felt positively rubbery from both the intensity of the fear and the resultant relief.

"I'm fine." He breathed softly. "It's fine. It's not what you think." His voice was still tinged with sleep. "I couldn't let him take it off is all. I don't want to see his face. I'm scared of him." Rodney's eyes were closing. He was drifting back.

Jennifer impulsively kissed his damp forehead, feeling tears in her eyes.

"You're safe, Rodney. You're home and no one can touch you. They have to go through me first. You're safe. Go to sleep."

"'m tired." Rodney said then faintly, his eyes closed. "But 'm scared he'll be there."

"Don't worry, Rodney." Jennifer murmured. "I'm here. I'll make sure no bad dreams find you. Go to sleep."

Rodney smiled and Jennifer thought that he might already have slipped back to sleep. She looked around and blushed as she noted the night staff had been watching. She smiled and held up a thumb to indicate all was well. Then she grabbed the nearby stool and settled in for a long night.

"Don't worry, Rodney." She whispered. "I'll keep the monsters away."

* * *

"Hey, McKay." Ronon said; his greeting, as usual, sounding more like a call to attention.

"Ronon." Rodney acknowledged the Satedan's presence, sounding pleasantly surprised.

"I thought I'd wheel you down to the mess hall for some real food." Ronon offered with a crooked grin.

"Oh, I like hospital food."

Ronon raised a skeptical eyebrow.

"Really. MRE's, too. Don't know why." He frowned. "Though they do give me gas."

Teyla, who had been sitting, keeping Rodney company, gave him a meaningful glance.

"I am sure that after so many days spent in the infirmary, a trip to the mess hall would be a welcome change." She said encouragingly.

Rodney shifted uncomfortably.

"Come on, McKay. Up." Ronon said simply and his tone of voice did not encourage further argument.

Rodney sighed. "Okay, I assume you're going to help me get out of this rig?" He said, indicating the infirmary bed and his plastered leg.

Ronon just grinned.

"You coming?" Rodney asked Teyla when he was finally situated in the wheel chair.

Teyla smiled. "I am afraid I must decline, Rodney. I have a training session planned with John. In fact, I fear that I will be tardy as it stands."

Rodney flashed a nervous smile. "Well, thanks for coming by."

Teyla smiled again and then impulsively she leaned forward and rested her forehead against his. She felt him tense instinctively at her close proximity and then relax enough to allow his forehead to lean equally against hers. When she straightened both of their eyes were slightly damp.

"Rodney," she said then. "It continues to be my pleasure to share your company."

Rodney blushed deeply and scoffed. "You're just saying that because you thought I was dead. Give me time. You'll get over it."

"I sincerely doubt that I will." Teyla said, a little too seriously and Rodney frowned. Teyla forced herself to smile and touched his shoulder gently. "Enjoy your meal, Rodney. Ronon." She smiled and waved as they exited the infirmary.

* * *

"Hey, this isn't the mess hall." Rodney said as Ronon wheeled him out onto one of the less frequented balconies.

"I know that McKay." Ronon said.

"Well, maybe you can't remember this far back but you and I were supposed to be going to the mess hall." McKay said irritably.

"You said you weren't hungry." Ronon retorted.

"Yes, well, that was before. Now you've got me craving blue jello and a cup of coffee that's actually still hot." Rodney said petulantly.

"After." Ronon answered.

"After what?" Rodney asked perplexed.

"We need to talk." Ronon stated.

"About?" Rodney questioned, still clearly irritated.

"What those bastards did to you."

Rodney stared, shocked at Ronon's direct statement. "Well, um, no?" He said uncertainly.

"You need to talk about it."

"No, I don't." Rodney said quickly.

"Yes, you do." Ronon argued.

"What exactly will that accomplish, hmm?" Rodney said, angrily. "It was painful and horrible and in the past. Talking about it won't make it go away. It'll just make everyone uncomfortable."

"Do I look uncomfortable?" Ronon retorted.

Rodney gave Ronon a quick up and down appraisal. "No." He said finally.

"I still don't see how talking about it is going to make it better." He insisted with a stubborn set to his jaw.

"Okay," Ronon conceeded amiably, throwing Rodney off a bit. "then tell me about your dreams."

"Dreams?"

Ronon lifted an eyebrow. "The dreams you keep having that have got the Doc so worried."

"None of your business." Rodney puffed.

"You're screaming in your sleep every night in the middle of the infirmary, McKay. Keller's staying up late into the night to make sure she wakes you up when they start." He paused meaningfully. "It is my business."

Rodney sighed. "I...I'm just not good at...this...stuff." He managed lamely.

"It's just talking, McKay. You're really good at talking." Ronon smiled but his voice held a great deal of warmth and understanding.

"I...I'm on a mission...with you." Rodney barked a bitter laugh. "Yeah, you were there and John and Teyla and her little dog, too."

Ronon frowned. "Dog?"

Rodney waved his hand dissmissively. "Wizard of Oz, just...it was a lame joke. Nevermind."

Rodney sighed and started again, "We're on a mission and I turn around and you're all gone." He swallowed. "Then Ionaa's there and she doesn't talk but wants me to follow her and I try. I try to run after but I can't catch her. Then I'm on a beach and there's this man in the water. I'm so scared of him and I don't know why. And not knowing just makes me more scared. Then he's right in front of me and I...he starts to pull off the mask. He's wearing a Wraith mask, I forgot to tell you that. He starts to pull it off and I just know that if he does...it'll be really, really bad."

Rodney's voice is ragged by this time with remembered fear and panic. "It's the same dream, over and over."

Ronon had been listening thoughtfully and remained quite for a long pause.

"You have to let him take off the mask." He said at last.

"Are you CRAZY!" Rodney asked incredulously. "Why did you drag me out here if you weren't listening to a word I just said? I can't let him take off that mask."

"Yes, you can, McKay. You have to. It's the only way you'll figure out what you're really afraid of." Ronon said simply.

"Okay, okay, thank for your time Sigmund Freaking-Crazy. Can we go now?" Rodney demanded, clearly annoyed.

"Sure." Ronon said shrugging. The shrug was incredible; perfectly articulating that Ronon felt he'd done his part and even Ronon's confidence in the fact that Rodney would inevitably follow his advice.

"McKay." Ronon had walked back to the handles of the wheelchair but paused.

"What?" Rodney said, still irritated.

"I'm sorry we left you and I'm really glad you're back." Ronon said simply. "I missed having you around."

Rodney craned his neck and looked up at Ronon, surprised. Ronon had been looking straight ahead, but bowed to return Rodney's gaze.

"I mean it." He said then.

"I believe you." Rodney replied and felt idiotic. He shifted his gaze back to the hall doorway as Ronon started pushing the wheelchair forward.

"Ronon?" He said at last.

"Yeah, McKay?"

"I missed you, too."

"I know."

Rodney smiled.

* * *

That night Rodney had the hauntingly familiar dream. It still took him miraculously arriving on the idealic beach to realize he was dreaming but when he did he also recognized and remembered he had been there before.

His chest still pounded franticly when he saw the old man in the water but he willed himself to remain in control and closed his eyes with determination.

He opened them and, just as he had expected, the old man stood within arms reach of him. He felt the familiar panic as the man lifted the mask but he clenched his teeth and fists and willed himself to stay, to see.

The mask lifted and Rodney saw...himself.

The shriveled old man behind the monster mask was Rodney. This alternate version of himself stared sadly at him for a long moment.

Then he handed Rodney the mask. Rodney stared at the costume, confused.

"You're not a monster." He heard his other self say but when he looked up, it was Ionaa standing before him. She was smiling.

"See?" She said and pointed to his hands.

The mask had turned to dust.

"Go to sleep, Rodney. You'll be alright."

Ionaa and the vision of the beach faded. Rodney slept on peacefully and never dreamed the dream again.

THE END

A/N: Well, it's over. I hope you liked the ending and that it wasn't disappointing. Thanks for all the reviews and feel free to let me know what you think of this ending. It's been lots of fun!


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